


Rhythm Of Your Heart

by chasing_ghosts (Betweenthelines5)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 23:19:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14389191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betweenthelines5/pseuds/chasing_ghosts
Summary: Cheryl knows that Toni’s lifestyle is dangerous, she’s seen the bruises from the fights but this time is different. She saw the life leave her eyes and the reality of the sitatuion hit the Blossom heir harder than anything she’s felt before. She needs the pink-haired Serpent to be okay, she needs it more than ever.





	Rhythm Of Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Came up with this outta nowhere. Might be a standalone, might not, either way I’m pretty happy with it. First time writing for Riverdale so still working on perceiving the characters in the right way.

Sirens are in the distance and rain is falling harder than it was a moment ago; Serpents and Ghoulies are everywhere and Cheryl is lost to the chaos. One minute she was making out with her girlfriend just outside the Whyte Wyrm and the next she’s being surrounded by gang members who are clearly out for blood. Toni, being the person that she is, ran into the fight without hesitation to stand by her brothers and sisters. Cheryl knows that Toni can handle herself but it’s very obvious that the Serpents are outnumbered an she doesn’t see the pink-haired girl anywhere.

The sound of gunshots fill the air and the parking lot falls silent for a few beats before the fighting starts up again, the Serpents coming back full force. Cheryl doesn’t know why but panic starts to fill her chest and just as she’s about to call out for her girlfriend, she’s pushed inside the bar by someone with strong arms. The last thing she sees before the door slams shut is the gleam from several blades as knives were pulled from pockets.

“Get your fucking hands off of me!” Cheryl hisses, shoving her elbow into the person’s abdomen. 

“Blossom, its me. Sweet Pea.” 

Cheryl straightens up with a huff, turning to face him, “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be out there fighting with everyone else?” She refuses to be weak in front of him, in front of anyone other than Toni.

“Toni made us promise to always protect you, no matter what.” Sweet Pea says, running a hand through his wet hair; his adrenaline is pumping and he needs to get back outside. “I don’t have time to sit here and talk to you, I’ve gotta get back out there. I just saw you standing there and-

“Someone call an ambulance!” Jughead yells, storming into the building, his face bloody and bruised. “Toni’s been shot!”

Cheryl’s blood runs cold at his words and she’s outside before she even realizes it. The Ghoulies are trying to flee just as Sheriff Keller and his deputies pull up but Cheryl doesn’t pay them any attention; all she can focus on is the crowd of Serpents that are surrounding who she knows is her girlfriend.

“Move, now.” Cheryl says with the usual bite to her tone although she’s blinking back tears. She pushes through leather jackets to get to the front, only to stop dead when she spots her girlfriend bruised and unconscious in Fangs arms.

“Tiny, you gotta wake up, you gotta.” Fangs says, rocking the girl back and forth in his arms. He doesn’t give a damn if he looks weak in front of his family, his best friend is bleeding out in his arms and all he wants is for her to be okay. 

“TT” Cheryl kneels next to her girlfriend, her hands gently grasping the pink-haired girls face. “Baby, you can’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”

“Everyone against the building!” Sheriff Keller commands, storming through the crowd. “Hands up, weapons down.”

No one moves.

Sheriff Keller goes to repeat himself but pauses when he sees Cheryl (who he knows doesn’t belong there) crying over an unconscious gang member, a girl he recognizes, “I need a medic!”

The EMT’s make their way towards Toni, and Cheryl and Fangs are left to stand there and watch helplessly as the medics try to stabilize her enough to get her to a hospital.

“I was supposed to have her back.” Fangs says, as Sweet Pea and Jughead come up beside them. The sheriff is trying to get statements from some of the gang members but no one is talking; this was personal and the police weren’t going to get involved. “We were fine, protecting each other and then that damn gun went off. By the time I realized what happened, she was already down.”

Cheryl doesn’t take her eyes off of Toni as Fangs explains what happened but she listens to his every word, getting angrier by the second. How could someone hurt her precious girlfriend, the girl who was so caring and loving and kind, who always made sure she was okay. “I’m going to burn them to the ground .”

Sweet Pea turns to look at her, “Bombshell, we can handle this ourselves.”

Cheryl narrows her eyes as she looks at Sweet Pea, “Toni is mine and I don’t like when people try to take away what is mine. Those filthy, disgusting excuses for human-beings will pay for what they did to her and they’ll be damn lucky if they make it out alive by the time I’m through with them.”

“We’ve got her stabilized enough to move her but we have to go now.” One of the medics says, “Which one of you is coming with us?”

“I am.” Cheryl says, wiping at the few tears that have fallen from her eyes. She takes a moment to collect herself before following after the medics and into the ambulance, grabbing for Toni’s hand as soon as she’s in reach. “You’re gonna be okay, baby. If anyone can get through this, you can.”

///  


Cheryl sits quietly in the corner of the hospital waiting room; her hair is disheveled and her clothes are completely ruined but she doesn’t care. Toni crashed twice on the way to the emergency room and any ounce of strength the redhead had was lost the second the pink-haired girl flatlined. The medics brought her back without a hitch each time but when Toni stopped breathing, even for just a minute, Cheryl felt like her entire world was ending. 

“Here, I got you some coffee.” Thomas says, sitting down in the empty seat next to Cheryl. “It’s not that fancy stuff you Northsiders drink but something tells me you don’t really give a shit right now.”

“Thank you.” Cheryl says softly, thankful for the warmth of the drink. “We’ve been here for hours, what’s taking so long?”

“I have no idea.” Thomas sighs, leaning back against his chair. 

Cheryl knows the Blossom charm could get her a long way right now but she’s in no shape or form to pull it off. Her makeup is all over the place, she’s still wet from the rain and to be honest, she’s too sad to come off as threatening. 

“She’s a fighter.” Thomas says, a few beats later. “She’s gonna pull through, you know. There’s no way in hell she’ll leave you, she loves you too much.”

Cheryl gives him a soft smile and takes a sip of her coffee, it’s bitter and so far from what the Blossom heir is used to but she doesn’t really care. “She was gone for two minutes and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

“She’ll be fine, we have to believe that.” Thomas says, patting her knee and standing up. “I’m gonna go and see if I can get an update.”

Nodding, Cheryl turns to her phone, grateful to have some sort of distraction.

“Cheryl, there you are!”

“Jug called, told us what happened. How are you?”

“I’m fine, cousin Betty.” Cheryl says, disdain clear in her voice as she looks up at the blonde. “Not that you actually want to know.”

“How is Toni?” Veronica asks, pushing past Betty to sit next to the redhead; she knew now wasn’t the time for drama. 

“She’s still in surgery.” Cheryl says, nails digging into the arms of the seat as she thinks about how long it’s been since they heard anything about the gang member. “We haven’t heard a damn thing.”

Veronica nods and takes Cheryl’s hand in her own, “We’re here for you.”

Cheryl wants to pull away, to act as if this isn’t breaking her heart but she doesn’t, she finds comfort in the physical contact, “Thank you.”

Archie sits next to Veronica, “We stopped by the trailer, to get you some things. We figured you’d be staying here a few days.”

“Family of Antoinette Topaz?”

Betty is roughly shoved to the side as Cheryl jumps up, making her way over to the doctor along with the Serpents, all eager to hear about Toni’s condition. Just about everyone is bruised and bloody from the fight, exhaustion on their features but it’s clear that no one cared about anything other then their fallen sister.

“I’m her grandfather, Thomas.”

The doctor looks around the group of gang members, “May we speak in private?”

“You can tell me what’s going on right here.” Thomas says, “We’re all family.”

“Very well.” The doctor says, knowing it’s best not to keep them waiting any longer. “The surgery was successful but she’s going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes up. Thankfully the bullet missed an artery and we were able to fix her up once we got her in the operating room. She’s in room 757 but she probably won’t be up for visitors for a while.”

“If you actually think you’re going to be able to keep any of them out, you’re an idiot.” Veronica says.

“Visiting hours are over, ma’am.”

“You’re going to let them in, whenever they want.” Veronica says, refusing to step down. “This girl almost lost her life and you’re telling them they can’t see her? Yeah, good look with that.”

The doctor sighs, “Alright, fine but only one at a time.”

Thomas thanks the doctor and turns to Cheryl, “Go. She’s going to be just fine and that’s enough for me. Besides, I don’t think she wants to wake up and see my face first thing.”

“Come on, we should all head home and get some sleep.” FP says; he wasn’t at the fight but when news broke out of one of his own getting hurt, he was there. “We can all come back tomorrow and harass the shit outta the doctors then.”

“Tell Tiny I’m gonna kick her ass for getting herself shot.” Sweet Pea says to Cheryl, clasping his hand on her shoulder. “Go get your girl.”

///

Toni is sound asleep when Cheryl finally works up the courage to make her way inside the hospital room. The pink-haired Serpent has bruises all over her body but the color is back in her face and she looks so much better than she did a few hours ago when she was bleeding out in the parking lot of the Whyte Wyrm. Relief fills Cheryl when she sees the soft rise and fall of her girlfriend’s chest and for the first time that night, she allows her self to completely break.

“I don’t like it when you cry, Bombshell.”

“TT” Cheryl says, voice cracking as her eyes snap towards the voice. “You’re awake.”

“Of course I am.” Toni groans, trying to sit up. “It’ll take more than a bullet to kill me; I might be tiny as fuck but I won’t go down that easily.”

“This isn’t something to joke about.” Cheryl says, gently pushing her girlfriend back down. “You can’t move, you just got out of surgery.”

“Come here.” Toni says, opening her arms; she knows Cheryl is fighting an inner battle with herself. The redhead is trying to act strong, like she wasn’t just crying to herself. “Cher, I’m okay. Please, come here.”

Cheryl crawls onto the bed, careful not to hurt Toni as she curls into the other girl, “You- You left me. I watched you leave me. I… I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again. You were hurt and I was helpless.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Toni says, pressing kisses to Cheryl’s knuckles. “You could’ve been pulled into the fight and if anything had happened to you, I would’ve never forgiven myself.”

“Toni Topaz, you got shot and almost died and you’re apologizing to me for something that was completely out of your control?” Cheryl asks in disbelief.  


“Shit with the Ghoulies has been getting worse and I should’ve known it wasn’t a good idea to bring you to the bar. You being with me on the Southside is already dangerous enough and-”

“I love you.” Cheryl says, kissing Toni softly. “I love you so, so much.”

Toni looks at her with wide eyes, “What?”

Cheryl cups her jaw, brown eyes full of adoration, “I’m not good at this feelings thing and I know I’m a mess to be with sometimes but I thought I was going to lose you and all I could think about was how I never got to tell you that I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Toni says, a dopey grin on her face; she’s in a lot of pain but being there with Cheryl and having heard those three words makes it a distant thought in her mind. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

“I know you’re a gang member and I’ve seen the bruises from some of the fights you’ve gotten in to but I’ve never witnessed it first hand. I couldn’t see you, Cha-Cha and then the gunshots went off and Sweet Pea was dragging me inside, I was so worried about you.”

“I’ve only spent a little bit of time with you, I’m not giving that up so soon.” Toni says, scratching softly at Cheryl’s thighs, “It’s gonna take a lot more than being shot to take me away from you.”

“I’d prefer is something like this never happens again.” Cheryl says, “We have to graduate and get out of this horrific town, move somewhere safer. We’re supposed to get our first apartment together and fight over the colors we want to paint the walls and the furniture we’re supposed to get.”

“Sounds like you’ve gotten us figured out. Wanna tell me the wedding plans and the names of our future children, too?” Toni teases.

Cheryl rolls her eyes, “I only ask that we name one after JJ.”

Toni’s laughter dies in her throat, “You’ve actually thought about our future?”

Shrugging, Cheryl gives a small nod, “I know it’s probably too soon and a little much but I do think about it sometimes. It’s just, I don’t know.”

“I don’t think it’s something you should be ashamed of, babe.” Toni says, running her fingers through red locks. “I think it’s cute.”

“Really?” Cheryl asks, voice soft, vulnerable. “You’re not freaked out?”

“Course not.” Toni assures her. “I think it’s fucking fantastic that the badass known as Cheryl Blossom is actually such a softly. I mean, tell me you’ve drawn them in your sketchbooks.”

“You’re such an asshole.” Cheryl says, rolling her eyes. “You know what, forget it. You’re making me regret not taking Sweet Pea up on his offer a few months ago.”

“Sweet Pea asked you on a date?” Toni asks, jealously very apparent. “When? Where? What did you say? Cheryl, tell me.”

Cheryl can’t help the laugh that slips from her lips, “Oh my God, baby. Calm down, I was only messing with you. He’s far from my type.”

“So, he didn’t ask you on a date?” Toni asks.

“Oh no, he definitely did but I shot him down so fast I think his ego is still trying to find itself again.” Cheryl says, “Besides, I was kinda waiting for someone else. I just didn’t know I was supposed to go through conversion therapy first.”

“I hate you so much.”

“No, you really don’t.” Cheryl says, a smile playing at her lips. 

Toni kisses her jaw, “You’re right, I don’t.”

A nurse comes into the room a few minutes later with Toni’s pain medication, “Sorry to interrupt ladies,” He says, hooking up the medicine to the IV. “Give this a few minutes and you should be out for the night. Anything I can either of you?”

“Nope.” Toni says, shaking her head. “You brought me exactly what I wanted.”

“Well in that case, have a good night. Remember, if you need anything, hit the call button and one of us will be right in.”

“You should go home and get some sleep.” Toni says, turning to look up at Cheryl, her angle off by how they’re laying. “I’m okay.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Cheryl says, matter of fact. “I’m staying right here until you’re ready to go home, TT.”

“Cher.”

Cheryl presses a kiss to her lips, “Don’t try to argue with me, you know I’ll win.”

Toni’s pain medicine is starting to kick in and she yawns, “Fine but only because you’re cute.” She says, “And I don’t wanna upset my girl anymore than I already have tonight.”

“Get some sleep.” Cheryl says, kissing her once more. “I’m going to be right here.”

**Author's Note:**

> If there’s anything you’d like to see, canon or not, let me know.


End file.
